How Will Windows 8 Evolve? | The Great Work From Home Debate

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Saturday, March 02, 2013 News   |   Commentary   |   Slideshows   |   Reports   |   Videos   |   TechCenters   |   Events   |   RSS Feeds   Tom LaSusa     Earlier this week, a memo to team Yahoo slipped out of the company's virtual gates and into the mainstream media's hands. In it, CEO Marissa Mayer announced (via the head of HR) an end to working from a home office. In other words, if you want to keep working for Yahoo, you need to get your tuchus to one of Yahoo's branches. "Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people and impromptu team meetings," read part of the memo. "Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home." The decision has been met with an equal amount of support and criticism, including our own staff. Contributor (and social guru) Deb Donston-Miller wondered if Mayer's edict is an affront to social business and those who embrace it. Deb wrote: "The memo seems to imply that unless people are in the same physical workspace, they cannot be truly effective. So, one might extrapolate, social business software can be truly effective only if there is also some literal face-to-face, elbow-to-elbow interaction occurring." Editor in chief Rob Preston, however, felt that those who disagreed were missing a bigger picture: "[Mayer] didn't take the job to break glass ceilings or champion work-life balance. Her job is to turn Yahoo around, and she's taking her best shot. This isn't about exercising control; it's about setting a tone for change." Rob also observed just because telecommuting doesn't work for Yahoo at this time doesn't mean that it's suddenly an industry taboo. As someone who works from home almost every day -- as do most of my immediate colleagues and my direct supervisors -- I find that I get more done in the day by not having to have to commute. Even from my dining room table, I'm often pulled into (or initiate) spur-of-the moment conference calls or IM chats about new projects and initiatives. I've never felt as if our creativity has suffered. I have other thoughts on the topic (including the impact on working parents) that you can find here. Feel free to jump into the conversation or email me with your thoughts: Is Mayer's decision a smart business move or the wrong one for this telecommuting/social business savvy world? Let me know at tom.lasusa@ubm.com! Tom LaSusa Community Manager InformationWeek.com QUOTE OF THE DAY "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." -- Eleanor Roosevelt JOIN THE CONVERSATION Posted By royatkinson: "The most interesting input I've heard on this issue had to do with the number of Yahoo! employees who have allegedly been using work time to build startups. If that's the problem, it's a management issue, not a question of location. Remote work must be based on trust. Mayer has fired a shot across the bow, indicating that a new Yahoo! culture will have less trust. I think that is unfortunate." In reply to: "Yahoo Flap Misses The Bigger Point" View Entire Response | Post Your Own Reply       DOWNLOAD INFORMATIONWEEK'S LATEST DIGITAL ISSUE Software is driving storage innovation, but solid-state technology is infiltrating all levels. ALSO SEE: A Better Way To Build Business Software; 3 Ways IT Still Fails Itself DOWNLOAD NOW FREE (Registration Required)     MOST POPULAR THIS WEEK Windows Blue: How Will Windows 8 Evolve? Windows Blue, Microsoft's alleged follow-up to Windows 8, may emerge by June. One prediction: Don't hold your breath for a retreat from the tiled look. Yahoo Flap Misses The Bigger Point New CEO Marissa Mayer wants all company employees to work in the office. This isn't about exercising control; it's about setting a tone for change. Did Yahoo's Mayer Slap Social In The Face? Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's edict that all Yahoo employees must work in the office doesn't please social business technology fans. But Yahoo insists this is about much more than social. Anonymous Launches Operation Wall Street, Targets CEOs Hacktivist collective cites mortgage crisis, Aaron Swartz and bank spying in call to arms to dox "any and all personal information" on financial services firm executives. Immigration Reform: Find The Middle Ground A 'virtual march' on Washington aims to bring more highly skilled technical workers into the U.S. It's time for a constructive debate rather than more vitriol. Office 365 For Business: Worth The Upgrade? Microsoft shows love for SMBs with three new Office 365 packages. Should you return the affection? 6 Big Data Advances: Some Might Be Giants In a full week for big data news, EMC, Intel and Revolution Analytics announcements stand out. MORE NEWS   EYE CANDY: IMAGE GALLERIES MWC 2013: Five Coolest Gadgets Mobile World Congress drew some 72,000 people to Barcelona, Spain, to see the latest and greatest mobile devices. Take a closer look at five gadgets that stood out.  View Now ALSO SEE • Anonymous: 10 Things We've Learned In 2013 • Tablets Rock On: Education Tech Through The Ages MORE SLIDESHOWS   RESOURCES AND EVENTS Interop Las Vegas Attend Interop Las Vegas, May 6-10, and attend the most thorough training on Apple Deployment at the NEW Mac & iOS IT Conference. Use Priority Code MPIWK by March 22 to save up to $500 off the price of Conference Passes. Join us in Las Vegas for access to 125+ workshops and conference classes, 350+ exhibiting companies, and the latest technology. Register for Interop today!   This e-mail was sent to sojo.blo@gmail.com InformationWeek: The Week In Review -- Published By InformationWeek 600 Community Drive Manhasset, NY 11030 To update your profile, change your e-mail address, or unsubscribe, click here. Thoughts about this newsletter? Give us feedback. Keep This Newsletter Out Of Your SPAM Folder Don't let future editions of InformationWeek: The Week In Review go missing. Take a moment to add the newsletter's address to your anti-spam white list: email@techwebnewsletters.com If you're not sure how to do that, ask your administrator or ISP. Or check your anti-spam utility's documentation. We take your privacy very seriously. Please review our Privacy Statement. © 2013  |  United Business Media LLC  |   Privacy Statement  |  Terms Of Service  |  Contact Us